


Elementary, My Dear Banner

by steviebarrnes (orphan_account)



Category: Fantastic Four (Movieverse), Sherlock Holmes (Downey films), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), The Avengers (2012), X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, Sexual Content, Time Travel, alot of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-05-03
Packaged: 2017-11-28 22:38:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/steviebarrnes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wait. Who?”<br/>“Their names are Sherlock Holmes, and John Watson.”<br/>When Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes come into contact with the Avengers through time travel, things get strange.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time Travel

"Wait. Who?" Clint asked.

"Their names are Sherlock Holmes, and John Watson." Fury answered a little annoyed.

"And, you're telling me that they came here from the past? Like time travel?" Tony leans forward on his elbows, and pointed at fury with a look of scrutiny.

"Yes, Stark." Fury sighed.

"Wait a second." Steve announced. "Can someone please explain to me how in the hell these people came from the 'past'"

"Ha, you of all people, Cap?" Clint quirked an eyebrow. "We should be asking you, how someone can go from one century to another."

"Shut it, Barton" Coulson snapped.

Clint flopped back into seat with a huff. Grumbling about dumb boyfriends being your dumb boss.

"If you are all finished, Barton?" Fury said, looking pointedly at Clint. "I would like to continue on with this meeting."  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I just don't understand why Fury wants us to meet these guys?" Tony asked, while spinning around in his chair.

Bruce's only response was a quick glance up at his boyfriend, a smirk, and a slow head shake.

Bruce was trying to help Jane figure out a contacting device that Thor could use in Asgard, and could withstand his brawn.

"Maybe, they could be a good attribute to the team?" Jane offered an answer.

"Pfft. Right? If that's the case, they won't amount to anything but a dead weight on the team." Tony scoffed, still spinning vigorously.

"Yeah, you said the same thing about Peter, and Logan." Bruce pointed out, not bothering to look up.

Tony immediately stopped spinning.

"Bruce, I wasn't wrong! Logan is filled with adamantium, makes him a bit heavy."

"Ewh." Bruce looked up and grimaced at Tony.

"Yeah. I agree that one was pretty bad." Tony grimacing, nodding his head.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Thor! Will you chill out?" Clint hollered. "You're making flying this piece of shit near impossible. I can't see dick."

Clint, Natasha, and Coulson had been given the task of picking Thor up from the Bi-Frost site. Odin was recently able to rebuild the Bi-Frost with the newly gained power of the Tesseract.

"I am sorry, my friend. I am just very excited and nervous to see my lady Jane, and the rest of our comrades." Thor replied, trying to settle in nerves.

"How is Asgard?" Natasha asked, turning in her co-pilot seat to face Thor.

"Ah, being home in Asgard was a joy. I had wished the circumstances were better, but it was most definitely nice to see my mother and father." Thor replied with a smile. "The warriors three and Lady Sif wish to visit your wondrous world that I have come to love"

"Very cool." Natasha nodded. "Just make sure to clear it with Fury before you come crashing the party with all your Viking friends."

"Viking? What is this creature?"

"Don't worry about it, Thor." Coulson spoke, not looking up from is files.

"The legends of your people were the Norsemen's mythology. You were basically the Gods they worshipped and believed to rule their afterlife." Clint explained. "Norsemen, were pretty vicious. They were given the name Vikings, or Berserks. They were pirates and traders that raided many areas of the world."

"Awh, what an honor. They sound to be very fierce warriors. Where can I find these Vikings?"

"They aren't really around anymore buddy." Clint laughed.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Alright everyone." Fury announced walking into the large meeting room. He looked over every face to make sure they were all there; he stopped when he noticed he was missing someone. "Where's Logan?"

"Right behind you, Patchy." Logan replied in his usual annoyed voice. He made his way into the room, sliding next to Steve and lying head down in his folded arms on the table.

"So, you all already know about our guests from-"

"Wait a second." Logan said, lifting his head from the table. "Why am I here? I already know everything there is to know about these two poindexters. I was alive back then remember?"

"Logan." Steve warned.

Logan huffed in response, and went back to his previous position.

Tony was staring at him wide-eyed, then blinked a few times shook his head.

"Anyway." Fury continued. "Mr. Holmes, and Dr. Watson should be arriving in a few minutes and I expect you all to be polite and respectful." Glancing at Clint, making him smirk. "And, no smart ass comments." Fury's focus now on Tony.

"What? Me? What about Charlotte?" Tony thumbed at Peter. "He's just as bad as me."

"No need to remind us of how bad of an influence you are on people." Bruce mumbled.

"Banner? You wound me." Tony gasped, slapping his hand on the reactor.

"Children!" Coulson hollered.

"Thank you, Agent." Fury nodded at him. "Now, you will stay here until I return with our guests. Do not do anything stupid. Steve, you're in charge, don't let anyone leave."

As Coulson and Fury left, Clint immediately took out his sling shot, and hit Logan in the head with a wad of paper. Logan retaliated by chucking the wad back and hitting Clint in the eye.

After that everything turned into chaos. It looked like a classroom full of third graders that had been left alone by their teacher.

Thor was throwing Mjolnir at the wall, but summoning her back right before it hit.

Peter was shooting webs at people that had their backs turned to him.

Tony was spinning in his chair, poking Bruce with a pencil every time his hand whipped pass. Which Bruce was trying to dodge.

Clint had turned his attention to Natasha, shooting waded up paper and anything else he could find at her. She would just catch them before they hit her, and chuck them back at him.

Steve and Logan were the only ones not acting like children (well, besides Bruce). Logan still had his head on the table, while Steve was sketching the chaos, smiling to himself when he heard the laughter from his friends.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally after what seemed like hours, but was only about twenty minutes the doorknob starts twisting slowly.

Everyone then scrambles back into their respected seats.

Tony's grinning from ear to ear, shoving his pencil back in his pocket.

Bruce is doing one of his breathing exercises, trying to calm down after the annoying storm of Tony Stark.

Natasha swiveled around in her seat, and sat up straight.

Thor dropped Mjolnir with a loud thud.

Clint quickly threw his sling shot over his head, hitting Tony in the process.

Peter is still absorbed in this shooting when Fury walked in the room, which caused him to accidentally hit Fury right in the face with web.

The room was silent for a few seconds, then Tony and Clint started laughing until they are both lying on the floor with tears in their eyes.

As Fury wiped his face with his gloved hand, he death glared Peter.

"Team!" Fury snapped. "I have two guests that I would like to introduce you to. Everyone, this is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and Dr. John Watson."

As the two visitors entered the room everyone's eyes went wide with surprise.

"Am I the only one?" Clint asked.

"No." Bruce shook his head.

"Mr. Holmes, Dr. Watson. This is my team. That is Steve Rogers our team Captain. Logan, who I believe you will have a lot to talk about with. Bruce Banner. Clint Barton. Natasha Romanov. Peter Parker. Thor Odinson. And…"

Fury had yet to fully turn to look at the team, but when he turned and looked at Tony his face grew into the same face as everyone else.

"Tony Stark" Tony stood and walk over to Sherlock and offered a hand.


	2. Drowning

John Watson then registered the same thing that everyone else had.

"I say." Sherlock looked taken aback. "You look very familiar."

"I could say the same about you." Tony replied with a smirk.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bruce was in his lab working. They had finally been released and were able to head back to the Tower, along with their guests.

He had just started the scan for his data when there was a knock on the opened door frame.

Bruce kept the door open when he was working alone, he didn't mind his friends coming down and hanging out while he worked.

When he looked up he was surprised by who it was.

"Dr. Banner. Correct?" Sherlock asked.

"Oh, umm. Yes, but call me Bruce, please." Bruce replied with a smile.

Sherlock walked into the lab, taking in his acquaintance.

Lab insists a doctor of more than medical knowledge. Low, deep breathing as if to slow heart rate. Posture and fidgeting show inability to relax. Dark circles around eyes display restless sleep. Dark tan as if had been in tropics, tan broken by lighten skin where a watch once sat. Possibly heart rate monitor, for there would be no need to know the time in the tropics. Bruises on neck accompanied with rash suggest recent sexual activity, most likely with Mr. Stark.

"Umm, so are you and Dr. Watson enjoying your stay?" Bruce asked, looking between his work and his visitor.

"Awh, yes. This time period comes with very interesting accommodations" Sherlock replied, walking around the lab in awe.

Bruce took in his visitor, and how much he reminded him of his very own boyfriend. He got lost looking at his strong jawline, and beautiful brown eyes. He looked so much like Tony; he forgot his was admiring a man he had only just met for an inappropriately long amount of time.

"Uh-hmm." Sherlock exaggeratedly cleared his throat.

This caused Bruce to snap back into reality.

"I umm…" Bruce had small smile on his face, looking down. "It's just you remind me of someone, I'm very close to."

"Awh, yes. Mr. Stark, I must say it is strange how similar our features seem to be."

"Similar? You two look identical. You have the same chocolate brown hair, and strong hands. Your eyes flex into a honey golden under the florescent lights, your lips have a slight, but natural curl into a smile. And, you have those beautiful long eyelashes."

Bruce, didn't realize what he said until Sherlock chuckled at Bruce's observations. Bruce immediately blush the color of Iron Man.

"You seem to know your companion quite well, and in detail." Sherlock smirked, the same one Bruce saw every day on Tony.

"I uh…" Bruce stammered, fidgeting his hands in his lap.

"Hey baby." Tony strutted into the lab with a wide grin, obviously oblivious to the stranger.

Bruce immediately smiled, but it was quick lived when he saw Sherlock cock one eyebrow in his peripheral vision.

When Tony made it over to him Bruce looked up into his boyfriend's eyes.

"Uh, Tony. Sherlock's here with us."

Tony looked up from Bruce gaze and smiled at Sherlock.

"Awh, Mr. Holmes. Wow, I must say you are a very handsome man." Tony grinned.

Bruce rolled his eyes, and groaned. Sherlock chuckled at the joke.

"Well, thank you Mr. Stark."

"Tony. It's Tony. Anyone who looks that good is qualified to call me by my first name."

"Sir, Ms. Romanov would like me to inform you that dinner is ready, and waiting." Jarvis announced.

"Thanks buddy." Tony replied. "So who's hungry?"  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"May I be frank?" Thor asked. "Dr. Banner, is it possible that you could be attracted to Mr. Holmes? Since he looks so similar to our very own Tony."

"Uhh, Thor" Clint said scrunching his nose and shaking his head. "Don't know if that is a good question to ask."

"No, no." Tony protested. "I would like to know also."

Tony smirked, looking over to his completely uncomfortable boyfriend.

"Come on, baby." Tony urged Bruce after a minute of silence.

"Wait." Clint said, raising his hands. "Are you two together?" pointing between Sherlock and Dr. Watson.

"Yes." Holmes.

"No." Watson.

They said in unison.

"Uh-hum. It's complicated." Watson stated.

"What's so complicated about it?" Peter asked, taking a bite of stir-fry.

"Well, technically John is married." Sherlock started to explain. "But, we slipped up on our last case."

"Slipped up?" Steve asked, with a confused look on his face.

"One of their dicks 'accidentally' fell into the other one." Logan said matter-of-factly.

Everyone at the table chocked on whatever they were eating or drinking at the moment. Steve just put his fork down and glared at his best friend.

"What?" Logan snapped at Steve.

"Ignore him." Natasha states.

A silence lingering over the table for a few minutes. Every individual dying for someone to break it, and thankfully Jane does. Everyone visibly relaxes when she speaks.

"So, Clint where's Coulson?"

"Oh, uh. He's on a mission in Washington."

"So soon?" Peter asked. "And, is it anything serious?"

"Nah, its some stupid military bullshit." Clint replies, pushing his food around his plate.

Clint honestly didn't know where his boyfriend was. Fury wouldn't give up any information on the mission, but assured him it was nothing to be worried about. Which to Clint seemed like a huge contradiction, either it was so secretive that he couldn't know, or it was so easy and unimportant that he had nothing to worry about and should be able to know where his man was.

Everyone noticed Clint clam up and continued into a light conversation over modern technology and movies.  
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"You aren't worried about me being attracted to Sherlock, are you?" Bruce asked while climbing into his side of the bed.

"Bruce, please. No, I mean I would understand but, I would hope you were with me for more than just my looks." Tony scoffed.

They scooted closer to the middle of the bed, until they were snuggled close. Tony was on his side, with head propped in his hand while Bruce was on his back looking up at his boyfriend.

"Okay, I just don't want you to think that, that ever crossed my mind. I mean, yes he is an attractive man, that goes without saying, but he's not you."

"Baby, please. Stop, you don't have to explain anything." Tony ran the back of his knuckles along Bruce's cheek.

"I know, I just kind of got caught up in him earlier and I feel bad about it."

Tony had to laugh at how silly his boyfriend was being. Honestly, he would almost be offended if Bruce wasn't attracted to Sherlock. I mean, they are literally the same person.

"Well, if you feel that bad about it. Why don't you do something to make it up to me?" Tony said, raising his eyebrows.

"Mmm, what do you have in mind?"

"Well…" Tony whispered while climbing to straddle Bruce. "It's been what? 27 hours since-"

Instead of finishing his sentence Tony simply ground himself into Bruce.

Bruce groaned at the friction, and stared at Tony with lustful eyes.

"Mmm, Tony. I don't know if I've recovered from last time."

Tony smirks, and runs his hands up his boyfriend's already bare chest. While Bruce ran his hands up Tony's legs, stopping at the top of his thighs.

"So, you gonna just sit there or you gonna ride my dick?" Bruce asked breathlessly.

Tony just groaned and rolled his hips. He then leaned down and kissed Bruce deep and sloppy. He licked Bruce's teeth, and sucked long and hard on his lip before pulling away, leaving Bruce breathless and longing for more.

Tony scrambled up and stood at the end of the bed.

"You like the Backstreet Boys?" He asked Bruce.

"What?" Bruce was struck with the random question.

"Do you like the Backstreet Boys?" Tony asked like he was talking to a small child.

"Uhh, I have no idea Tony."

"Mmm… Well maybe you will after this." As he says this soft sound of a piano beings to fill the air.

Bruce sits himself up more, resting against the headboard, with a confused look on his face. What was Tony doing?

"Don't pretend you're sorry, I know you're not. You know you got the power, to make me weak inside. And boy you leave me breathless, but it's ok. 'Cause you are my survival, now hear me say." Tony begins to sing along with the song.

Bruce's face splits into a grin when he realizes he's going to get a personal serenade from Mr. Tony Stark himself.

"I can't imagine life without your love. And even forever don't seem like long enough."

Tony then starts to crawl onto the bed as he sings the chorus.

"'Cause every time I breathe I take you in, and my heart beats again, baby I can't help it. You keep me drowning in your love. And every time I try to rise above, I'm swept away by love, Baby I can't help it, you keep me drowning in your love."

Tony continues to crawl up to Bruce, and kisses him once he's straddling him again, completely forgetting about the overrated boy band song.

After another few minutes of deep passionate kissing Tony scoots his way down Bruce's body, kissing every inch on the way. When he makes it to the waist band of his boxers he licks a thin line atop of them, making Bruce shudder underneath him.

Tony then pulls the waist band down with his teeth, tapping Bruce light on the hip telling him left up.

Bruce compiles, and lifts his hips, groaning as he feels Tony's teeth skim his skin. Once his boxers are completely off Tony flings them onto the floor, and licks his lips while staring down at Bruce.

Bruce shudders and closes his eyes at the sight of Tony lustfully staring at his naked body. When he opens them again, Tony is nestled between his legs waiting for Bruce to look at him.

"Oh god, Tony don't look at me like that." Bruce breaths "Just do it."

Tony smirks, but doesn't need to be told again before he takes Bruce's full length into his mouth. Then opening his mouth and letting his full tongue run all the way up the throbbing cock in his mouth. He then takes just the tip in this mouth again and sucks hard, licking the slit of Bruce head.

"Baby." Bruce sighs. "Baby!"

Tony looks up at Bruce with concerned eyes.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Tony asked licking his lips.

Bruce pants a few times before speaking.

"Tony, I don't want you to fuck me."

Tony quirks and eyebrow in confusion.

"Then what do you want?"

I slow smile creeps onto Bruce's face, before he lends up and grabs Tony by the arms and drags him up for a kiss.

"I want you to make love to me, baby."

Tony feels his whole body melt from that simple sentence. But, because it was Bruce who so sweetly whispered it into his ear he couldn't help the clench in his stomach and tingles that spread throughout his body.

"Bruce, I'm so in love with you."

And, it's the first time Tony has ever said those words to someone and meant it. He takes an internal picture of the look he gets in response and saves it in his heart.

"I love you too, Tony" Bruce whispers, running his hand down the side of his face.

"Now, about that request" Tony smiles, then dips in for a kiss.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Bruce wakes up the next morning, the room is dimly lit from the shaded windows. He rolls over to see his beautiful man sleeping peacefully next to him.

"Hey, Jarvis?" Bruce whispers

"Yes, Dr. Banner?"

"Please, tell me you got all that on tape?"

"Of course sir." Jarvis replied. "I would like to take this moment in telling you that, that was the first time Mr. Stark has ever told someone he loved them while being intimate. Nice work, sir"

Bruce had to laugh at that. Jarvis was definitely his creators, creation. Bruce then placed a light, quick kiss on Tony's temple before slipping out of bed, and heading for the kitchen.

Tony bounded into the kitchen about a half an hour after Bruce. He was feeling sore but completely blissful. Seeing Bruce at the stove, Tony made a be-line for him, wrapping his arms around his waist from behind and kissing him on the cheek.

"Good morning, gorgeous." Tony whispered.

"Mmm" Bruce smiled, titling his back to kiss Tony's lips.

"Ugh, guys please. My stomach is already churning from his massive hangover, don't make it worse." Clint whined into his cup of orange juice.

Neither responded, Tony simply pushed Clint off the counter on his way by to plop down on the stool beside Logan.

"I can't wait for the day that Bruce has had enough of his shit, and beats him into the ground" Logan mutters.

Everyone laughs expect for Bruce and Clint.

"Bruce, you wouldn't!" Clint asked wearily.

"No, I promise I won't." Bruce laughed.

"Don't make promises you can keep, Banner."

Everyone looked up to see Coulson standing by the elevator. He had cuts and bruises all over his face, and a cast on his left arm. Everyone greeted him with a smile and concerned questions, expect for Clint who stood there looking anywhere but Phil.

Phil looked straight at Clint when he finally made eye contact.

"Hey baby." Phil breathed.

"Hi." Clint whispered looking down at the floor, trying to hide the glimmer of tears in his eyes.

Phil slowly started walking towards Clint with an obvious limp. He stopped and lifted his chin and looked deep into his eyes. Everyone was quiet around them, watching the couple intently.

"I missed you." Phil finally broke the silence.

With that Clint launched himself into Phil's arms, babbling about never leaving again, and telling him what the fuck happened and how next time he better be informed more about these so called "unimportant and easy" missions, and how he was going to kill Fury.

At that moment Sherlock and Watson entered the room.

"Oh, my apologizes." Watson stopped suddenly noticing the couple. "Are we interrupting?"

"No, no" Phil laughed. "Come in. It's a pleasure to see you again"

"Oh, please. It's an pleasure more for us than you." Watson smiled.

"Thank you, Dr. Watson." Phil nodded.

"Please, its John."

Watson then noticed everyone had refocused their attention to the man next to him. Sherlock was in full concentration, obviously using his famous deducing skills.

"Uhh, he alright?" Peter asked from the couch, pointing at Holmes.

"Uh, yes." John replied. "Sherlock?... Sherlock!... Holmes!"

"What!" Sherlock jumped.

"You were doing it again." John looked at him pointedly.

Holmes looked around the room at his new companions, with a smirk.

"Right." His face lit up. "My apologizes. Just getting a read on my new friends."

He looked at Watson, and they both glared at each other, obviously having a silent conversation.


	3. Rhodey

"Sir, Ms. Potts is on the line." Jarvis announced.

Everyone had settled around the TV to watch the last Harry Potter.

"Tony!" Peppers came through the speakers loud and clear.

"Hi cupcake" Tony smirked.

"Tony. Rhodey has been trying to get a hold of you for three days. He will be at the Tower in a few minutes. He needs help with the suit. And, Reed Richards has asked for yours and Bruce's input on a new device he's come up with." Pepper practically yelled.

"Jesus, Pepper." Tony covered his ears. "Alright, alright."

"Sir, Colonel Rhodes is asked for entrance."

"Exactly." Pepper snapped. "Call Reed. And, don't forget about our conference call at eight tomorrow morning. And, Steve baby, I'll be home this weekend. Love you. Goodbye, Tony"

Tony quirked an eyebrow at Steve, who simply smirked at him.

"Don't look at me like that. You wouldn't know her, if it weren't for me" Tony snapped.

At that moment Rhodey walked through the door, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Rhodey!" Tony yelled. Hitting the pause button, ignoring the protest from Clint and Thor. "Buddy. I missed you!"

Tony went to hug his best friend but was stopped by the harsh glare Rhodey was giving him.

"Tony…" Rhodey sighed. "Why haven't you answered my calls? I need some serious updates on the suit."

"Suit?" Peter asked. "You're War Machine?"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't sound so impressed, it'll go to his head." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Tony, aren't you going to finally introduce me to your team?"

"Oh, right." Tony said turning back towards is friends. "Okay this is gonna take a while. So, The big blonde is Thor, he's the God of Lighting."

"Thunder" Thor boomed.

"Thunder, right. And, that's Jane Foster, Thor's girl she's an astrophysist. Ummm, that's Steve, Captain America. Logan, Wolverine. Peter, Spider-Man. Natasha and Clint are the assassins, Black Widow and Hawkeye. Sherlock and Dr. Watson are our new friends from the past, I'll explain later. And, this is Bruce, my Bruce and I swear to god Rhodey if you get all military on me about him, I will personally detach both of your arms. No, Ross. Got it?"

Rhodey just laughed at Tony.

"Tony, I'm not gonna call Ross. You're finally happy. I don't want to jeopardized that, besides Ross is a total douche." Rhodey winked at Bruce.

Bruce snorted at that, and smiled at Rhodey. He could see why Tony liked him so much.

"So, you are part of the military?" Watson asked.

"Yes, Air Force. We're you in the service?"

"Yes. Spent time in Afghanistan back in the day."

"Wait, your were part of the Afghan war?" Steve asked.

"Yes, sir" Watson replied.

That's when Rhodey, Steve, Logan and Watson found themselves walking to the kitchen for a drink.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By the time the movie was done, Thor and Jane had retired to their room. Peter and Bruce where passed out on the couch, and Natasha, Clint and Coulson had been called to SHEILD. So, Tony and Sherlock were the last ones standing.

"So, Mr. Holmes." Tony breathed. "What do you think about the 21st century?"

"Actually, it has really pleased me." Sherlock smiled. "Your relationship with Dr. Banner has opened John up to the idea that same sex relationships are not completely wrong. We come from a time that truly looks down upon such a thing. It's refreshing to see that our society will and has come to accept these things better."

"Well" Tony said, looking down at Bruce, running his hand through the ruffled curls. "It's not perfect yet, but it's getting there."

"You really love him, don't you?" Sherlock stated.

Tony looked up into the same eyes that he saw every day in his reflection.

"With all my heart"

Sherlock sighed.

"I just wish John, and I could have what you two have."

Tony could have sworn he saw the other man's eyes glisten.

"He'll come around, Sherlock." Tony soothed. "You guys really seem to get each other, it'll work out."  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rhodey had ended up staying the night at Stark Tower drinking, and talking with Watson and the rest of them. It was honestly really refreshing to talk to someone that respected his field of work.

Once he had showered and made himself presentable through his hangover, he made his way down to Tony's lab. Of course, Tony had the music blaring and didn't hear him walk in.

"Mute"

"Hey!" Tony snapped around in his seat. "Rhodey. You know to never turn off my music."

"Tony, just hush. Are you almost done with the updates?"

"Yep, you are up and ready to go." Tony grinned.

"You didn't go overboard, did you?" Rhodey quirked an eyebrow.

"No, Rhodey" Tony rolled his eyes.

"Good." Rhodey nodded with a smile. "Well, I better be off, gotta meeting at noon. It was nice seeing you Tony. And, next time… answer my calls."

"Nice to see you too buddy. And, I'll think about it."

Tony then slapped a bracelet on Rhodey's wrist and hit a button. Within seconds Rhodey was engulfed in armor.

"I thought you said you didn't go overboard." he said through the mask.

"I didn't." Tony grinned. "Go on, you love it."

Tony could see the eye roll Rhodey gave him.

"Bye, Tons"

"Bye, Rhodes"  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As Tony walked into the living room he noticed everyone lounging around doing absolutely nothing.

"Alright." Tony announced sauntering in. "Who died? Why are the friends of Tony Stark sitting around like worthless pieces of flesh?"

"There's nothing to do around here, Stark." Logan grumbled. "And, it's not like we can go anywhere. We aren't exactly low profile."

Tony rolled his eyes, as he made his way over to the wet bar.

"Don't talk to me about not having a low profile. Besides, we don't have to go out to have a little fun. This is why I have decided to throw a party here, tonight."

Clint, who had been intensely immersed in his game of Call of Duty, froze at Tony's words. He dropped his controller and slowly turned towards Tony with wide eyes.

"Tony." Clint whispered. "I love you."

Clint quickly stood up and dashed to Tony's side, putting his hands on his shoulders.

"I mean, have I ever really told you how much I love you?"

"Uhhh, no?" Tony answered with a confused look.

"Oh god." Clint squeaked. "There's so much I have to do, and have so little time. And, Phil? Oh my god, I have to clean up. I might get laid tonight."

With that Clint sprinted from the room, everyone looking completely confused and amused.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"You have to go."

"Tony, I don't do crowds very well. We both know this."

"Bruce, come on. Who am I gonna dance with?" Tony whined.

"I don't know. Natasha?" Bruce said through the door.

"NO!" Tony hollered, quickly pulling himself up off the door he'd been leaning on.

Bruce had locked himself in their bedroom, trying to prevent Tony from dragging him to the party.

"Tony, its fine. I'll be here when you get back."

"Bruce, come on. I have to head down soon, I promised Sherlock I'd be his wing-man."

"I thought he, and John were sort of together?" Bruce asked, confused.

"They are." Tony stated. "Bruce just open the door, baby."

Bruce couldn't help himself. He loved when Tony called him sweet names. So, he opened the door with a shy smile.

Despite his boyfriend's refusal to join the party, Bruce was dressed in charcoal black pants, a deep red button down, and a matching sleek black vest and tie set.

Tony physically took a step back to admire the man before him.

"Oh god." Bruce's eyes went wide. "It is that bad?"

He went to turn and change, but was stopped by a hand on his bicep.

"Bruce, no." Tony shook his head. "You look, wow."

"Really?"

"Really." Tony grinned. "Come on, definitely coming now."


	4. Fantastic

There were so many people packed into the living room. It was overwhelming.

Sherlock and Watson sat at the bar, taking in the scene when Clint flopped down beside them.

"So, are you enjoying this?" Clint hollered over Rihanna's 'We Found Love'

"It's sort of thrilling." Watson bobbed his head along to the music. "You and Coulson seem to be enjoying yourselves."

"Yeah." Clint laughed. "He's trying"

"Have you seen Tony?" Sherlock asked.

"No, last time I saw him he was going to drag Banner from their room." Clint replied. "You guys should dance."

"For god sake, don't dance. It'll be the death of you." Sherlock whispered.

"No, no. I don't dance." Watson shook his head.

"Hey!" Tony hollered walking up to the group of men, Banner in tow. "Ready to fly, big man?" Tony winked at Sherlock.

Sherlock grinned in response and started to follow Tony to the DJ table.

"Banner, buddy" Clint grinned. "Wanna dance?"

"You know what happens when you dance!" Tony hollered over his shoulder.

The song then abruptly changed to the BackStreet Boys. Looking through the crowd Bruce saw Tony grin and wink at him, which caused him to blush.

Tony then flung Pepper into his arms and Natasha into Sherlock's.

"So.." Natasha laughed. "Trying to make your man jealous?"

"No." Sherlock scoffs. But, then folds under Natasha intense glare. "Alright, yes."

"Well, let me help."

For the next two hours Natasha and Sherlock were inseparable, both laying it on thick.

Everyone noticed Watson getting more and more agitated, until he finally grabbed a drunken Sherlock by the collar and smashed their lips together.

The kiss was intense and passionate, both melting into each. Sherlock internally giving Tony and Natasha bear hugs. Watson was washed with relief.

"Yes!" Natasha hollered.

When Sherlock and Watson pulled away, all their new friends were around them clamoring to pounce on both of them.

After that no one saw Sherlock and Watson for the rest of the night.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning Peter stumbled into the kitchen.

He didn't have the slightest clue has to what time it was because of how tinted Jarvis had the windows.

So, he was honestly surprised to see everyone, literally EVERYONE in the kitchen.

"Hey Parker" Natasha smirked.

"Hey." Peter groaned, laying half his body across the bar top.

"You're an idiot." Logan stated, not looking up from his newspaper.

"What?"

"You don't have any pants on." Logan rolled his eyes.

Peter looked down at his Iron Man boxers, and groaned, making no effort to go change.

"Rough night?" Bruce asked, pushing Tylenol and water towards Peter.

"Uhh, you could say that."

"Gwen stayed last night, didn't she?" Tony grinned.

"Tony." Bruce warned.

Peter blushed at the thought of his girlfriend. "Uhh, yeah she did."

"Anddddd?" Clint sang.

Peter paused for a moment not sure of whether he should tell his teammates or not. After a minute he decided, fuck it.

"Alright, yes, yes. It happened. Okay?" Peter waved his hands around frantically. "Now you all have no reason to tease me anymore."

"Peter, you did… Ya know?" Bruce asked. "Because you know, your blood… and other bodily fluids are radioactive, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Totally doc. That and I don't want to be a dad at age 23."

"Now, THAT would be an absolute travesty" Logan chuckled.  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Logan and Thor were sparring when Steve came rushing in.

"Fury called. He said it was urgent. We are needed at the Helicarrier."

Logan heaved a long sigh; he never liked dealing with SHIELD. They were too much government run for his liking. But, he enjoyed being part of the Avengers (even if he didn't act like it).

Once they were there they all piled into the same room that they had been in when they met Sherlock and Watson.

"Alright, team." Fury said, walking into the room. "We have a problem."

"Well, that's surprising" Peter huffed.

"Zip it Parker." Fury snapped. "Stark, you did get in contact with Reed Richards, correct?"

"Ahh, shit." Tony groaned, leaning his head back against his chair. "Nooo, I can call him now."

"Fan-fucking-tastic" Fury quipped. "Yes, call him now. Video."

Tony quickly set up the video display on his phone, and called Reed.

"Hello?"

Steve internally rolled his eyes. It was Johnny Storm.

"Well, well. Look who it is." Johnny laughed.

"Johnny. Where's Reed." Tony snapped.

"Ahhh." Johnny droned looking over both shoulders. "Hell if I know, probably something boring and science-y."

"Storm." Fury snapped. "Get Reed. Now"

"Hey, man. I do not take orders from you."

"Johnny, please." Bruce pleaded.

"Bruce! Hey! My man. Have you thought about my idea?" Johnny asked. "You know, Hulk and Thing." Johnny made an explosion noise and head gesture.

"No Johnny" Bruce sighed. "I haven't, but I will if you get Reed on the line."

Johnny's face lit up at that.

"On it."

"Really?" Clint asked. "That's all it took? That kids is a nut case."

"He reminds me a lot of Steve." Thor chuckled, gaining him a glare from Steve.

Reed then popped into view on the screen.

"Reed. Buddy" Tony greeted him.

"Tony, how are you?"

"Good man. Sorry I didn't get a hold of you sooner, but what's up?"

Reed sighed, and rubbed his eyes vigorously. "I honestly think it would be a better idea if we talked about this in person."

"Alright, Richards. You and your team get here ASAP." Fury snapped, walking out of the room.

"I'll see you in a bit, Tony."

"See ya, Reed."

They only had to wait on the Fantastic Four for about a half an hour. When they walked through the door everyone was fidgety.

"Hey guys." Reed walked in breathless.

"Hulk man!" Johnny shouted hoping over to Bruce.

"Uhh.." Ben stammered. "Is there anywhere for me to sit without wrecking the furniture."

"Good, lord." Sherlock exclaimed. "What a magnificent creature!"

"He is, isn't he?" Johnny grinned at the growling Thing.

"He's actually a human." Steve stated. "He was changed while in a space accident, along with the rest of his team. The change has been most difficult on Ben, he's extremely strong and powerful, its hard for him to control."

Bruce snorted. "He has no idea."

Ben and Bruce stared each other down. Everyone knew that they didn't get along very well, both having large egos. Bruce's was recently acquired, after he had learned how to control the Hulk better, he had become over confident about what he had under the hood.

"Alright guys." Reed stated. "Can we talk about the task at hand?"

"Shoot, elasti-girl" Clint quipped.

Everyone glared at him. Reed then started to fidget and became more and more nervous.

"What is it, Reed?" Bruce asked.

Reed looked up into Bruce's eyes. "It's Ross."


	5. Internal Hell

Bruce huffed in response "Of course it is. What does he want?"

"Well." Reed scratched the back of his neck "He says he either wants you, or the time travel device."

"Why would he want that?" Steve asked.

Reed and Tony narrowed their eyes at each other, both swirling the question around in their heads.

A minute passed by when Reed eyes went wide, and looked at Bruce and back at Tony.

"Oh shit." Tony said, registering what Reed was getting at. "You don't really think…"

"What?" Clint snapped.

"2006." Tony whispered.

"2006?" Peter asked out loud.

"That's the year when our big green smashing machine came into the world, isn't it?" Logan looked at Bruce who was leaning on the table, looking down with his eyes screwed shut.

"Yes." Bruce breathed.

"Wait" Johnny stood up. "I'm not getting it. What's Ross' plan?"

"My theory is that he wants to go back to the time of Bruce's accident and either stop it or kill him. I'm guessing the latter." Reed grimaced.

"Why are we assuming that his intention is to kill?" Thor boomed.

"Ross hates me too much not to kill me." Bruce stated.

Silence fell over the group. Everyone thinking and contemplating on what the hell they were gonna do.

"Wait a second." Logan cut through the silence "How does Ross even know about the Tardis?"

"Doctor Who reference, Logan? Really?" Peter quirked an eyebrow, Logan smirked.

"Betty Ross and I built it and…" Reed glanced at Bruce.

"What?" Bruce snapped his head up, and then looked to Fury "You didn't tell me anything about Betty being involved with SHIELD! No. No, she is not going to get sucked into this fucked up organization. I forbid it. She's been through enough because of me; I refuse to let her be drug into this bullshit!"

Bruce was sheathing by the end of his rant. His hands fisted, knuckles white pressing into the table. He was leaned across the table into Fury's face, eye's swirling acid green.

"That reaction is exactly why I asked him not to tell you."

Everyone looked up to see Betty Ross standing in the doorway of the conference room.

Betty smirked at all the wide eyes that were currently taking interest in her.

"Betty" Bruce breathed, both he and his alter ego immediately soothing under the ever effective balm of Betty Ross.

"Hi Bruce" Betty smiled, before walking around the table to embrace him. "Thought dads were supposed to stop terrorizing boyfriends after the break up."

This gained a smile and a snort from Bruce. " I've missed you."

"It looks like you've managed without me." Betty laughed, pulling away from the embrace and turning to Tony. "Thank you. Thank you for being stronger than I was. Thank you for taking care of him when I couldn't. You must be a crazy, self-destructive, risk taking, strong, smart, amazing man."

Tony grinned up at the woman standing before him, taking her hand he replied. "Always. But, maybe this time. You can be there with me."

Betty smiled brightly and flung herself into Tony arms at the sound of his words.

"Hate to break up the reunion here, but we a have situation to tend to." Fury scolded.

"Right, my bastard father." Betty huffed, flopping down in Tony's lap.

"Well, since Betty." Reed looked pointedly at her. "Can't keep her files locked up well enough-"

"Hold up." Betty interrupted. "It is NOT my fault that my fathers a noisy bastard and was able to get access to my files. It's not like I can just exempt him from my life and family. As much I as I wish I could, I can't. He got in because he lied by saying he needed the information because he was concerned for my safety and that he didn't trust SHIELD."

"Okay, so what are we gonna do?" Steve asked becoming impatient.

"Well, giving Bruce over to the General is out of the question." Reed stated.

"And, if we don't give him the time travel device, he'll find a way to get to Bruce, which I refuse to let happen." Peter snapped.

"You could always tell him that you are no longer in support of Bruce, that you have sent him away and out from under your protection, and that you will allow him to go back in time to do his bidding but only under SHIELD supervision. Then you all go in after him and stop whatever he has planned." Sherlock stated from the corner of the room.

Everyone had forgotten about their visitors, they had also forgotten that the two were very well known for dealing with and stopping these kinds of complex situations.

"That could work, but if we are seen by anyone we could completely destroy the future and become stuck in the past." Reed thought out loud.

"Alright, then I'll do it." Sherlock shrugged.

"No." Bruce snapped. "No way, this is not your battle to fight, and I refuse let you risk your lives for me."

"Doctor, please. I do this kind of thing for fun, when I get bored." Sherlock chuckled.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They were back at the Tower. Their plans had been made, and now they had to wait for Fury to schedule a time and date with Ross, which could be days or weeks.

"Why is it always me?" Bruce groaned. "Why don't you all have people who are constantly trying to kill you?"

"Well…" Tony began. "Everyone from Logan and Steve's past are dead. Peter is too new to have an arch enemy. Thor is a prince from a different realm. Tasha and Clint killed everyone they knew. And, the Quad Squad sank Doom to the bottom of the ocean."

"Right…" Bruce sighed. "I'm so sick and tired of Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross"

"Me too." Betty laughed, gaining a smirk from Bruce. "You know, Bruce you should tell me your secret, you don't look any older than last time I saw you."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked, searching Betty's eyes.

"Well, I mean it's been what? Nine years since I saw you last and you look exactly the same. I don't know maybe you're just aging well."

"Well, umm… I haven't told anyone but, the Hulk has slowed down my aging a great deal."

"What!" Tony snapped. "Why haven't you told me that!"

"I.. d-don't know." Bruce stammered. "It didn't seem important."

"How long?" Tony demanded, jumping up from his chair, pacing.

"I don't know. Last time I checked it was only about 20 years."

"And, what exactly causes the age progression to slow?" Reed interjected.

"Well, every time I change, we all know that Hulk heals all my injuries. Well, since aging is degenerate at this point in my life, I'm guessing he is keeping my body from growing older, because he sees it as health damage."

"And, you haven't checked on this progression in a while?" Tony asked.

"No." Bruce sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"This just makes me want my own Hulk so much more." Clint grinned.

Bruce was stressed, and agitated from Ross, and Clint's statement seemed to be his snapping point. It was absolutely asinine that anyone would ever want to be in his position.

"You really think this is cool?!" Bruce snapped, jumping out of his seat. "I don't want to live forever! I didn't even want to live this long nine years ago! I can't kill myself, and now I can't naturally die! I'm stuck in this internal hell forever! You all will be gone eventually, then what? What the hell am I supposed to do? I'll be alone, AGAIN. I don't want to watch all you die, while I stay looking like a 40 year old for the rest of my life!"

"Bruce." Logan said, with a stern voice.

Everyone turned to see a hunched over Wolverine. The veins in his arms pulsing, knuckles white from the steel grip he had on his glass.

"Logan, I'm sorry. But, I won't be able to live with it as well as you have."

"I'm not doing anything but living with it. That's it. I've lost everything and everyone I love. But, don't you dare say that you will be alone. I refuse for you to every think that. I will always, literally always be here, no matter what happens. You'll need me, and I'll need you. But, you can't get angry, you can't get depressed or upset. It will do absolutely nothing. You may be stuck here in this hell, but so am I. And, I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to keep everyone you love alive as long as possible. I will sacrifice my 'life' to make sure that no harm comes to them as much as possible."


	6. Disguised

"Mr. Holmes?"

Sherlock was standing on the balcony, taking in the view of the overwhelming city. He turned to see the beautiful Betty Ross standing hesitantly at the door.

"Yes." Sherlock smiled. "Call me Sherlock, or just Holmes. No need for the mister."

Betty smiled, and joined him at the edge of the balcony.

"I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for doing this, I know you and Bruce have only known each other for a few days, but it truly means a lot to me that you are doing this for him."

"Well, Ms. Ross-"

"Betty."

"Betty" Sherlock repeated with a smile. "He is a good man. He and his partner Mr. Stark have done a great deal for me. And, I feel this is a perfect and necessary way to repay them. I have grown to care for everyone in this group. I do not wish to allow harm come to anyone here. Besides, he is very important to everyone here, without him there would not be an Avengers Initiative."

"Yes, well. He has always been the logical one. The one that's main goal is always take care of everyone else before himself. He is so genuine and it kills me to see him so torn apart by his past. I just wish I could do something to help."

"You were close." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, we dated before his accident. He was my best friend. He left after the accident. I know he did it for my safety, but… I never blamed him for what happened to me. I loved him and would have done anything in my power to be with him. I still would. I still love him."

Sherlock noticed tears starting to roll down her face, he has never been good with emotions but he truly felt for this woman. So, he slowly pulled her to his chest and let her cry into his shirt.

"I know he loves Tony now, and I'm so happy for him. They are so much better together than he and I would be. Tony can take care of him in ways that i couldn't even imagine doing. It makes my so happy to see Bruce this at easy with someone. But, even with all that it still stings a bit."

"He still loves you Betty. I can see it in his eyes. The way he immediately calmed when he saw you, you two still have a strong bond. It may be different now, but you will always be his, and he yours."

___________________________________________________________________________________

"It's been three days, Director! When will you know?"

Natasha was never one to sit around and wait for direction or order. She hated not knowing when the next move would be, it made her uneasy.

"Tasha." Clint tried to calm her. It was new for him to see his partner show so much emotion, especially for another person, besides himself.

"No, Clint. I'm tired of waiting, you know I can't take not knowing what's going on in our enemies mind. He wants one my best friends dead and I don't take that lightly."

Everyone was stunned into silence at the confession. Natasha Romanoff, master assassin, the only person to show less emotion then Bruce Banner himself, had just called him a friend. Best friend to be more specific.

Natasha noticed all the wide eyes and surprised expressions. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I care about you, all of you. But, back to the task at hand, have you or have you not gotten in contact with the General?"

"I have not. He will not return my calls, I have even sent Coulson try and talk to him. But he is unwilling to talk to anyone affiliated with SHIELD."

"What about someone like me?" Tony smirked.

"Tony..." Bruce groaned.

"Bruce, shush. I can go in and talk to him, explain our plan and see if I can get him to tell me his side of the deal."

"He knows about your relationship with Banner." Steve pointed out.

"Okay, then I'll tell him some sort of lie about how we broke up because, of something... I don't know. I'll have time to think of a good one."

"I don't think it's a good idea to try and pry the information out of him. He might find it suspicious that you would even ask." Betty said wearily.

"We could always hack their database for information." Tony shrugged.

"My dad doesn't have anything on Bruce in the computers, once he put under the protection of SHIELD the military told him he could no longer pursue him, so now all the information is on a computer that is no longer connected to the rest of the military servers."

"Fantastic." Reed sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"No one knows their way around encryption codes, and military systems like Tony, but he's also the only one Ross will most likely listen to, since you are the one that would have the biggest personal investment in all this."

"What about Sherlock?" Peter piped up.

"What do you mean, what about Sherlock?" Clint asked.

"He can pretend to be Tony, while the real Tony, along with Reed try to crack into the computer."

"Okay, but how do we get Reed and Tony into the base without being recognized?" Natasha thought out loud.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Watson smiled. "Holmes has got disguises covered."

Sherlock smirked at John.

________________________________________________________________________________

When Sherlock walked out into the living room, it was a shock to everyone at how much he looked like Tony. Actually, he looked exactly like Tony. His hair was cut short in a tousled, windblown look. He was also sporting the trademark Tony Stark goatee. Thank god he hadn't shaved in a few days. He also wore red tinted aviators, and a sharp charcoal suite, with a red button down, and gold tie. He was one hundred percent Iron Man.

"Well, how do I look?" Sherlock asked, pulling his jacket into better placement.

"Wow." Bruce said, walking up to Sherlock. "You look exactly like him. I couldn't even tell a difference."

"That's the idea." Sherlock grinned.

"Uhhh, one thing though." Clint grimaced. "The English accent? Got to go."

"Oh right." Sherlock cleared his throat. Then quirked and eyebrow, and said in his best impersonation. "Stark. Tony Stark."

Everyone laughed. "Actually, that was perfect." Clint approved.

"Where are Tony and Reed?" Susan asked, smiling with anticipation.

"Master Stark and Richards should be arriving shortly." Jarvis announced.

"This ought to be good." Ben grinned rubbing his hands together.

After a few minutes of waiting Tony and Reed finally shuffled their way into the living room. Laughter immediately erupted from the group. Tony was wearing the usual military uniform, but what was so funny was the fact that he was covered head to toe in brown make-up, causing him look African American. He had a dark curly wig that matched his thick sideburns, bread, mustache and goatee. Reed was less dressed up, but also in the usual military junk, but his hair was blonde and he had blue contacts in.

"Bruuuuce." Tony whined.

"Tony, wow. You look unrecognizable." Bruce laughed.

"Thanks." Tony huffed. "Can we go now?"

"The quinjet is on the roof waiting. Susan will stay with Sherlock, while Clint and I stay out of sight. Tony and Reed, you will escort Sherlock to the Generals office. Keep in contact on the comms." Natasha commanded. "Everyone ready? Oh, and Bruce we have video and voice recorders hooked up to Sherlock, you and Watson watch and save anything you think to be important."

"Let's go." Clint hollered.

Everyone was turning to leave when Bruce caught Tony's arm.

"What's wrong baby?" Tony whispered.

"I just… I love you."

"I love you too." Tony smiled, searching Bruce's eyes. "I'll be back soon okay?"

"Okay." Bruce said nervously.

Tony gave him a quick kiss before making his way to the elevator to meet the others.


	7. Convincing

"I swear to god, Barton. If you don't stop laughing, next time I'm in the suit I will put a large metal foot up your ass."

They were currently flying over Kansas on their way to the Desert Base, in New Mexico, and Tony was already ready to be home.

"You okay, Tony?" Susan asked. "You seem a bit antsy."

"Fine. Just want to get there, get what we need, and get out. I want to be with Bruce."

"We'll get through this as fast, and efficiently as possible." Reed said, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony sighed. "I just hate being away from him in these kinds of situations."

"You know he can take care of himself, Tony. He is the Hulk. Ya know, 7 feet tall. Green. Indestructible. Strongest there is. You heard of him?" Clint laughed.

"Shut it, Barton." Tony snapped.

"I don't want to hear any more bickering from you two!" Bruce's voice cam over the comms.

"Bruce!" Tony perked up.

"Hey tiger. And, Clint that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said about me." Bruce joked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't let it go to your head. Remember, I can take you out."

"I'd like to see you try." Bruce laughed. "Anyways, how far are you guys out?"

"About, an hour and a half." Natasha relayed.

"Alrig-Ow! What the hell, Logan?" Bruce hollered. "You guys should hurry. I'm afraid I'm gonna be in shreds when you get back."

"Hey!" Tony leaned over Natasha's co-pilot seat to yell at the speaker. "Logan! Get your ass to where I can talk to you. Jarvis, put a video up on co-pilot window."

Tony could hear a scuffle and laughing before Logan came into view.

"What's up, Denzel?" Logan grinned.

"Logan. What are you doing to Bruce?" Tony demanded.

"Awh, the big guys fine. Just poked him a bit."

"A bit? A bit!" Bruce hollered from the back ground.

"Oh, quit being a baby." Logan threw over his shoulder.

"Alright, Wolf boy. Quit stabbing my man!"

"Okay, okay." Logan held his hands up in surrender.

"Bruce!" Tony hollered.

"Yes, dear?" Bruce popped his head in view, pushing Logan out of the way causing him to topple off his stool.

Everyone laughed, expect for Tony and Natasha who were trying to hide their smiles.

"I'm gonna go. Need to clear my head before we get there. I'll see you later."

"Alright, Tony." Bruce laughed, looking down at Wolverine still on the ground. "I'll see you soon." He flipped the video off without even looking up at the feed.

Tony frowned.

"He seems relaxed." Sherlock pointed out.

"Yeah, he does." Tony sighed. "Logan seems to be the only one to be able to bring that out in him."

"They are close, Tony. They have a lot in common. Don't take it personal." Natasha reassured.

"Hard not to." Tony said under his breath.

________________________________________________________________________________

Everything had gone smoothly up to this point. Tony and Reed had made it to Ross' office, no problem. Sherlock was completely convincing as Tony and no one noticed Susan, Natasha, or Clint. It looked like everything would go as planned without a hitch.

All that aside Bruce's heart was still beating loudly. And, it was from the words that came from Sherlock's mouth. He knew it wasn't really Tony, and he knew that it was all a lie. But, something about hearing it in the voice of the man he loved, made it extremely painful.

"So, you are telling me that Banner is no longer part of SHIELD and is no longer under their protection." Ross questioned.

"Yes." Sherlock stated, in his perfect Stark voice. "Banner and I are no longer together. I came to realize that you have had the right idea on who and what he is all along. It took a few lives to be lost for me to truly grasp that he is in fact a monster, a murderer, and needs to be terminated. He destroyed lives close to me, and I want nothing more for the same end to come to him. He is a dangerous, chaotic, psychotic, being and I want to help see his end. "

"And, what did he do that made you see the light?"

"He killed a close friend of mine. He became extremely jealous, and was on war path, and…" Sherlock took in a shaky breath.

"Alright, alright, Stark. I understand. I will make sure that Banner gets everything he deserves. I always knew he would become the true animal, he is."

"See that you do." Sherlock said. His voice so cold, Bruce shivered. "That piece of shit monster needs to be more than killed. He needs to suffer, tortured, than destroyed."

Betty quickly flipped off the video feed.

"Bruce?" She asked, her voice quiet and soothing.

Bruce didn't answer. The words still ringing in his ears, the words he told himself every day. Stated by the one person he cared about most. Okay, well it wasn't really Tony. But, it looked and sounded exactly like him. So much so, he was almost completely convinced that it was and that he really meant what he said.

"Bruce." Betty said his name more urgently.

He felt like someone had taken his heart, ripped it out of his chest, and torn it apart, right in front of his eyes. He felt numb, and frozen. All his worst nightmares had come to life. It was hard to pull himself out of the act and back to reality.

"Bruce!" Betty shook him.

"What, what?" Bruce snapped out of his daze.

"Bruce, are you alright?" Jane asked, her hands visibly shaking as she went to intertwine her fingers with his.

"Yeah. I'm uhh.. I'm fine." Bruce stammered, then smiled what he knew to be the weakest smile anyone could pull off.

"We shouldn't have had you listen to that. I'm sure it seemed too real for you, I'm sorry." Betty whispered, laying her head on Bruce's shoulder.

"No, Betty." He kissed her hair. "It's okay, don't be sorry. I'll be fine. It was just that Sherlock was so convincing."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"We're back!" Clint announced.

"Uhhh-godd." Johnny groaned, rolling off the couch.

"Thor, is Phil here?"

"Yes. He is in your sleeping quarters."

Clint nodded and headed down the hall "We'll brief you in the morning." He threw over his shoulder.

"John." Sherlock smiled. Walking over to his boyfriend? Lover? Leaning in giving him a long kiss. "I missed you"

"Mmm." Watson hummed happily. He kept his eyes closed savoring Sherlock's smell. "I missed you too."

"Where's Bruce?" Tony asked, walking to the bar, wiping off the last of the brown make-up.

"Uhh. I think he's in the lab." Betty said. "But, Tony. He's uhh… had a rough day. So, be easy on him."

Tony frowned, and walked to the elevator, hitting the lab level.

"Jarvis, did anything happen while I was away?"

"Mister Banner seemed to have taken what Sherlock said to Ross difficultly. He explained to Miss Ross that it was hard for him to hear what was said."

Tony sighed. He hoped it wasn't anything too extreme. Sherlock was a better Tony Stark than Tony was.

Once he made it to the lab, he stopped and watched Bruce through the glass door for a few minutes. He was hunched over one of the workbench's. His head in his hand, his whole body shaking. Tony quietly stepped through the door.

"Bruce?" he asked hesitantly.

"Tony." Bruce whipped around, trying to hide the fact that two seconds ago he was wallowing in self pity.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Tony asked, walking slowly over to his boyfriend.

"Nothin." Bruce smiled weakly

"Banner."

"Stark."

Tony put his hands on Bruce shoulders, and kissed his forehead.

"You should really te-"

Tony was cut off by Bruce's mouth crashing into his. He was reluctant for a second not wanting to be sidetracked but eventually gave in.

They kissed sloppy and fast. Both panting and digging at one another. Tony pushed the chair Bruce had vacated to the side, and hoisted him up onto the table. Both still licking and clawing.

"Tony" Bruce breathed between kisses.

"Mmm." Tony hummed in response. Moving down to kiss and suck Bruce's neck.

"What you think about getting married?"

Tony froze, and so did Bruce. He didn't mean to say that out loud and now there was no taking it back.

"What?" Tony breathed.

"Ummm… Well, nevermind."

"No, Bruce." Tony pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Tell me what's going on."

Bruce couldn't hold it back anymore. He was so tired, so stressed, and felt like he had been mentally berated for the past few days. Hulk had been growling and pissy all day and he had no more strength to keep it together.

Bruce's eyes glistened and his lip trembled, before he completely broke. He screwed his eyes shut as the tears started to stream down his face. Tony was taken aback by the sight. The only emotions he'd ever seen Bruce show was extreme angry, and happiness.

"Sweetheart, talk to me." Tony said, wiping tears away with his thumbs.

"I just… What Sherlock said today, it got to me. I know it wasn't real, but for some reason hearing your voice and watching your lips form those words killed me. He said exactly what I've always thought. Things I expected you and everyone else to think when we first met. I've always prepared myself for you to one day wake up and realize that I am a monster, and that don't want me."

"First of all, Bruce Banner, you are not a monster. I thought we were past this? I thought you and the Hulk had gained more compatibility? I was also under the impression that you thought higher of me. I thought you knew that I love you? It was Sherlock saying what he needed to say to get on Ross' side. Neither me nor anyone else in this tower believes a word of what he had to say. I love you, you are not a monster, and my mind will never change on that topic. You are a smart, beautiful, generous man. You've had a difficult life, you've had to deal with shit no one should be asked you handle. You are the strongest person I know. So, you never ever feel anything but perfect."

"Tony…"

"Bruce, please. Stop it. Now, answer one thing for me? Kay?"

Bruce nodded his head in response.

"Why'd you ask me to marry you?"

Bruce sniffled and looked into Tony's eyes. "Because I love you and, I was thinking about our future together. And, I thought maybe if we were married then I wouldn't be so self-conscious about you leaving me."

Tony sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. "That's a really shitty reason to ask someone to marry you."

"I know but-"

"But… Yes, I will marry you."

"Tony, you don't have to answer. This isn't exactly the ideal time for something like this. I was just thinking. It wouldn't hurt my fee-"

Tony kissed him hard so he would stop rambling.

Pulling away breathlessly. "I said yes, you crazy man. Now, take me upstairs and make love to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know how much I like this chapter, but it'll do for now.


	8. My Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long.   
> Even with how long this took to post, I don't like this chapter really, at all.   
> So, there may be changes made. I'll leave a note saying so when the next chapter is posted.   
> Which should be much sooner than this one.

"Bed or shower" Tony panted, as they came stumbling into the room.

"Nnnn… shower." Bruce moaned, starting to kiss down Tony's neck.

"Jarvis, start the shower." Tony breathed, pulling Bruce into the bathroom. Once inside Tony pulled away, much to Bruce's protest.

"You." Tony said, walking backwards, tugging his shirt off. "Bruce Banner, are a monster."

Tony couldn't help the breathless, wide smile that over took his face, when he saw the hunger in Bruce's eyes.

"Yeah?" Bruce panted, still standing in the doorway. "You wanna see the monster?"

Tony licked his lips. "Give it to me Brucey."

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Why are you so happy?" Clint asked, from his perch atop the fridge.

"What? A guy can't smile without there being a reason behind it." Tony asked, pouring himself at cup of coffee.

"A guy can. You can't." Steve smiled taking a bite of cereal.

"When is Pepper getting back?"

"Tomorrow, why?"

"Just counting down the days till I won't have to deal with you anymore than necessary."

"You've been saying that for years." Steve smiled smugly, pushing his cereal around with his spoon.

"Clint, get off the furniture." Phil hollered walking in the kitchen with Bruce.

"Whyyyy?" Clint whined while hopping down before bounding over and kissing his boyfriend.

Bruce sauntered over to Tony with a grin, leaning in and pressing a sweet kiss to his lips.

"Mmm." Tony hummed, turning to set his mug down, and pulling Bruce into a more intense kiss.

"Uh-hum." Steve cleared his throat. "We need to head to SHIELD in a bit. You guys want to go elsewhere to do that, and get ready?"

"What are you talking about? I'm ready to go." Tony said, straitening up his black wife-beater.

"Alright, whatever you say. Let's get everyone else and we'll go."

________________________________________________________________________________

"Don't ever remember the jet ever being this hot before." Peter whined.

Literally everyone was there, the entire team, Sherlock, Watson, Betty, and The Four group.

"We're here, quit bitching!" Clint snapped from the pilot seat. The jet immediately shook in landing, and the hatch opened.

Everyone made their way inside, and to the conference room to wait for Fury.

As they waited Logan continued to attract and retract his claws, causing a disturbing noise of metal cutting into skin.

"Logan. I swear to god, if you do that one more time I will snap them off." Natasha glared.

"You cant." Logan smirked, pointing his middle claw at her.

"Alright, I'll have Banner do it." Natasha nodded to the scientist.

"Bruce?" Logan smirked.

"Hulk."

"Alright children." Fury announced, walking into the room. "I have officially spoken to Ross. He has agreed to through with our arrangements. He is set to be here on Friday."

"Sounds good." Tony said, clapping his hands together.

"But…" Fury continued. "He wants you to go with him. And, he wants proof that Bruce is no longer under our protection, and has been sent elsewhere."

"Why does he need Tony?" Steve asked.

"He didn't say…"

"Okay. So, I go with him, and you send old footage of Bruce in Calcutta." Tony stated.

"We don't have footage of that nature. We made sure there was no way for anyone other than SHIELD to know where he was. There's no file, no video, no nothing from the time Banner spent in India, or any other area." Fury said.

"Soo…?" Peter asked impatiently.

"So, Banner has to go." Fury stated, a little annoyed.

"What? No. I'm not sending him out there by himself while this thing is going on." Tony jumped up out of his seat pacing nervously.

"Tony, I'll be okay." Bruce tried to reassure his fiancé.

"No, Bruce. I'm not gonna send you off to god knows where, vulnerable and defenseless."

Bruce didn't reply but with a small smirk and a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Tony." Clint interjected. "Bruce is nowhere near defenseless. He's got the most powerful weapon mankind has ever seen at his disposal."

"You may see it that way Barton." Tony spat. "But, I don't. Would you send Coulson off to a foreign country by himself while the man that has been leading the head hunt against him for years is so close to what he has always wanted. And! To top it off you have to go with him on his little mission acting like you agree with him and don't want to just destroy him right then and there. And, what if our plan back fires? What if this all goes horribly wrong? I refuse to let him be all alone in the middle of bum-fuck-Egypt wondering if he'll be dead in hours, minutes, or seconds. No, it's not happening. I don't care if he is ungodly strong. I don't care if he is invincible. I don't care if he is the Hulk. He is the man I love and I will not, I repeat will not let him go alone."

"I'll go." Logan says roughly. "I'll go with him. I'll make sure he's taken care of."

Tony couldn't help the growl that ruptured from his throat. "No." He barked.

"Tony?" Bruce asked, intertwining his fingers with the engineers. "What's wrong with Logan going with me?"

"Because!" Tony blurted out much louder than he meant. Causing Bruce to flinch back into his seat. This made Tony feel immediately guilty. The last thing he wanted right now was hurt Bruce. "Because." He repeated after a steadying breath. "Because, I'm jealous of how Logan can make you relax, and be yourself in a way that even I cant."

"Tony." Bruce breathed, running his hand through his hair. "I let myself relax around Logan more than you, because it would take a hell of a lot more to kill him than it would you. I just don't want to hurt you baby, Logan… He can take Hulk's brawn a little bit more than everyone else. Well, maybe expect Ben."

"I hope you know that, that doesn't make me feel any better." Tony said through gritted teeth.

"I figured not." Bruce sighed.

"I think it's a good idea for Logan to go with Bruce." Steve stated. "The government still has a thing against mutants. So, it would be good for Logan to be out of sight as well as Bruce."

"Fine." Tony huffed. "But, no funny business Twilight. I'm serious." He snapped pointing his finger at Wolverine.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

"I hate this." Tony whined. He was leaned against the door frame of their bathroom, a tumbler of whiskey in hand.

Bruce just smirked as he continued to pack a small amount of clothes in the duffle bag that he thought he'd never have to use again.

"I mean seriously." Tony said, setting his glass down on the dresser and walking over to Bruce. "I can't stand the thought of not being near you for only a few hours. What am I gonna do?"

Bruce had stopped packing, and straightened up from his hunched position over the duffle. Tony took the opportunity to wrap his arms around his waist and kiss his neck.

"I didn't think I'd have to use this bag ever again." Bruce whispered, running his finger along the zipper.

"I hoped you wouldn't ever want to."

Bruce turned around in Tony's embrace to face him. "I don't want to." He said, running his knuckles down his fiancés cheek. Tony leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. He inhaled and savored the sense of Bruce's skin, before grasping the hand in his.

"I'm gonna miss you." He whispered, opening his eyes and exposing his glistening eyes.

"Hey." Bruce cooed, stepping closer and bringing his other hand up to cup Tony's face. "I'll only be gone for a few days. Logan will be with me and I'll be safe. We'll get through this, and I'll come home to you."

"You promise?" Tony asked his eyes searching the other mans.

"I promise."

Tony then leaned in and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to this man's lips. "I love you." He whispered, once he pulled away.

Bruce smiled his shy smile at the floor, and shook his head, before looking Tony straight in the eye. "I'm completely in love with you, Anthony Stark."

"Oh, Brucey." Tony smiled before stealing another kiss.

They both turned as there was a knock on the door. Tony walked over and opened the door to find Sherlock and Watson on the opposite side.

"Are we interrupting?" Watson asked.

"No, no. Come in." Tony smiled, moving out of the way allowing their guests in. "What's up?"

"Watson and I were thinking." Sherlock stated, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Since we both have grown to care for all the residence in this Tower. We thought that maybe, I could go with the General, instead of you, like we did before."

"That's an amazing offer, Sherlock. But, I'm afraid there are things that Ross will expect me to know, and do that, no offense to your brilliance, you wouldn't know or be able to perform."

"You could always teach me." Sherlock shrugged.

"We just don't want any of you hurt, emotionally or physically." Watson interjected before Tony or Bruce could respond. "You've helped us so much, and we still feel that we owe you." He weaved Sherlock's fingers with his, showing what he meant.

"I appreciate it, really I do. But…" Bruce said, sitting down next to Sherlock. "I just can't let you risk it. If Ross for some god for knows what reason gets suspicious of you, or figures it out, he'll kill you. And, I won't let that happen."

"Well, just like you, we will not allow any harm come to you or any of the rest of the Avengers and their friends." Watson stated, standing up and walking over to the floor length window.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes, but was cut off by Sherlock. "Get everyone to the living room." He demanded walking out of the room, leaving Bruce, Tony and Watson dumbfounded.

Everyone trickled into the living room, curiosity thick in the air. Once everyone had made their selves comfortable Sherlock began.

"So, I'm sure you all know that both Watson and I know very little about this time period and are still trying to get our bearings on everything. But, one of the few things that we have become comfortable with in our short visit is how much we have come to care about each in every one of you so easily. You all have shown what strong, courageous, and loyal people you are. There are not many people like that where we come from. In my time, I have been seen as an odd, eccentric, and difficult person with very strange customs. Most people would not have done what you all have done for me and my partner. And, I want you to know that it is extremely difficult for me to truly impressed, and taken by people. I don't really let people in, I've always been a loner and my practices have always been more important to me than relationships. May that be family, friend, or imitate relations. But, what I am trying to convey to you all is that, I am standing here asking you to trust me when I tell you that there is no way that Watson and I will sit back and not partake in this situation. I am Sherlock Holmes, the greatest mind of my time. And, I know that there are at less three or four of you here that have been considered some of the smartest minds in today's society. So, I plead with you to look into my work and see that I can and will be able to help. This kind of thing is my job, and even if my part in all this is small I do not mind. As long as I am allowed to help assist keep one of my new friends safe from this man."


	9. Thing vs. Hulk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long. End of the semester papers, and exams have been killing me.   
> Here's this chapter. The next one should come ALOT sooner.   
> Thanks to everyone who is still reading. Again, I apologize for disappearing.

“Johnnnnyyy!” Steve hollered, chasing the Torch into the kitchen.

Everyone was eating breakfast before Bruce and Logan left for their flight to Kyoto, Japan.

“Steve, Steve. You gotta admit we do look quite a bit alike.” Johnny laughed.

“Get out of my suit! You’ll destroy it!” Steve snapped.

“Oh, come on Cap. I won’t scorch the suit.”

“Have to admit Cap, you can the kid do kinda look alike.” Clint says through a mouth full of waffles.

“We do not!” Steve stamped his foot.

“I must agree with Clinton. You two look very similar. Not unlike Tony and Mr. Sherlock.” Thor said.

“Johnny, come on. Out of Steve’s suit.” Reed coaxed his brother-in-law.

“Fine.” Johnny huffed. “I just want you to know, Rogers. You are as much a crotchety old man as the big guy is.” He said pointing at Ben.

“Want me to turn your new car into a paper wad to match the old one?” Ben growled.

“Ben. Johnny.” Susan snapped. “We are guests in Mr. Stark's home, and you will not do this here, are we clear?” 

“Inescapably.” Johnny grumbled as he walked out of the room.

“I’m sorry about that.” Susan said to the rest of the table. “They can act like children at the worst of times.”

“It’s really nothing we’re not use to, Susan.” Natasha says, pointedly looking at Clint, Peter and Tony.

“Did you really turn Johnny’s car into a paper wad?” Logan asks.

“Yeah.” Ben grunted. “But, I bet your buddy here can one up me on that.”

Bruce froze mid bite before setting his fork down and turning to Ben.

“It’s never been a contest to me, Ben.” Bruce snapped. “But…” He continues smugly. “You’re probably right.”

“Oh yeah.” Ben stands up quickly from his seat, jostling the table violently.

“I’m not fighting you Ben.” Bruce sighed.

“What? What’s wrong afraid you’ll break another Harlem? If that’s even true.”

“Piss me off, see what happens.” Bruce growls, standing up from his seat as well.

“Is that a threat or a challenge?” Ben smirked, stepping up into Bruce’s face.

“Oh.” Bruce smiles smugly. “It’s definitely a threat.”

At that moment Johnny comes skidding into the room. “Oh yes! Finally!” He laughs, jumping up and down like a child.

“Ah, ah, ah.” Tony says, jumping up and putting his hands on Bruce’s shoulders and pulling him back.

“That’s enough, Ben.” Reed coaxes. 

“Ahh, guys come on. That would have been so epic.” Johnny groans.

“Did anyone else almost piss their pants?” Peter asks, eyes not leaving Bruce and Ben.

Everyone but Logan raised their hands. “What?” Logan asked when everyone looked at him. “I can’t die.” He shrugged.

“Steve!” 

Everyone turned to see Pepper running out of the elevator over to where Steve was standing.

“Pepper.” He smiled, scooping his girlfriend up in his arms and kissing her passionately. “Hey baby.” He smiled, putting her back on her feet.

“Hey” She grinned. “What’s up guys?”

_____________________________________

Bruce gave a heavy sigh as the plane took off. It had only been fifteen minutes but he already missed Tony like crazy.

“Hey.” Logan said, trying to get Bruce’s attention. “They’ll be fine. It’ll all work out.”

“Are you trying comfort me?” Bruce quirked an eyebrow.

“Cherish the thought, buddy.” Logan grinned, as Bruce threw his in flight pillow at him.

“Thanks, by the way.” Bruce says quietly.

“For what?”

“Everything. Being there for me about the whole aging thing and being here now.”

“You are one of the few people I consider a friend, Bruce.”

“You miss them don’t you? Storm and the kids. Xavier.” Bruce asked quietly.

“I do.” Logan sighs, running his fingers over the knuckles of his right hand.

"You know, I've always wanted to meet the Professor. Just to see what he thought of this messed up brain of mine." Bruce smiled. 

"Trust bub, he would have a fucking ball with you." Logan laughed, gaining a playful glare from the scientist.

Bruce felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Leave it to Tony to get around cell service issues on a plane. He smiled softly to himself as he struggled to retrieve. He knew it was Tony before he even looked at it.

‘Hey Brucey, miss you already. Stay close to Logan for me. I love you so much, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you safe again. Can’t wait to bring you home. Love you baby. –Your fiance'

His smile grew wider, but his heart clenched each time he read the text over. This was going to be far more difficult than he thought. He glanced up at Logan, who was giving him as close to a sympathetic look as he could muster. Bruce just shook his head before looking back at his phone and hitting reply.

‘I love you too…’  
___________________________________

“It’s been three days, excuse me for missing him!” Tony snapped.  
“Well, you need to get your head clear in fifteen minutes. Ross will be here.” Fury ordered. “Who all is going after Ross and Tony?”

“Susan, Sherlock, Clint, Natasha and I are going, sir.” Steve stated from his regular conference room chair. “Reed, Watson and Peter are staying behind to watch and communicate with Tony through his video feed, and comm. Thor and Ben will be stand watch outside of the portal. That you WILL leave open. To make sure no one else tries to sneak in after Ross.”

“And, the kid?” Fury asked, thumbing at Johnny.

“Lover boy sticks with me.” Ben grunted, slapping Johnny on the shoulder.

“Ow.”

“Alright, everyone disperse. We’ll keep in contact through the comms.” Fury ordered.

Everyone expect Susan and Tony left the conference room for their respective positions. 

“You alright, Tony?” Susan asked as she faded from vision.

“Yeah, let’s just bring him home.”


End file.
